The University of Cincinnati requests funds to purchase a high- performance triple-stage quadruple mass spectrometer/mass spectrometer (MS/MS) system to upgrade its existing capabilities. The University is the twelfth oldest higher educational institutional in the country, and is one of two comprehensive universities in the State of Ohio. With its modern approach to research and education at all levels, it has provided a pool of well-trained scientists, doctors and technical support people now employe across the country. The faculty in the physical and life sciences are at the forefronts of many areas of science and medicine. However, the MS facilities at the University have not kept up with state of the art technology, which is severely hampering the productivity of these researchers. There is currently no instrumentation at the University equivalent to the high-performance triple-stage MS/MS system. This level of MS analysis is critically needed for research and training programs in biological sciences, chemistry, environmental health, molecular genetics, pediatrics, pharmacology, pharmacy, and surgery. The instrument is essential to perform ongoing experiments in NIH-funded projects as well as a future research in fields such as biodegradation and biochemical toxicology, biotransformation and biomarkers of toxin exposure, lipid biochemistry and physiology of pathogenic microbes, and protein peptide structure and chemistry. This instrument will also be used for graduate student and post-doctoral training in various disciplines. A Research I university of the size and funding level of the University of Cincinnati cannot remain competitive in attaining its long-term educational and advanced research goals without such instrumentation. The requested instrumentation will enhance sensitivity and detection levels, and reduce noise levels, features which current instruments at the University cannot attain. The instrument will be able to provide mass spectral data for large biomolecules. The ionization dn sample introduction methods will enable the analysis of heat-labile large and intact biomolecules. Hydrolysis and derivitization of large molecules required by currently available instrumentation can alter the structure of these molecules, hence scientific journals are increasingly demanding intact molecule analyses. The requested instrument can detect either positive or negative ions formed by highly efficient ion ionization methods. This will improve the ability to conduct studies such as the structural identification of signature lipids and enable subsequent sensitive detection of pathogens and toxin degraders present in humans and the outdoor environment. The instrument will be able to analyze complexes such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-DNA adducts, and aid in the elucidation of active sites of enzymes, pumps, drugs and receptors. These data may lead to the development of new drugs and their derivatives and the identification of biodegradation products of environmental pollutants. There are several ongoing projects across the University that are only possible to complete or advance with updated MS capabilities; beyond the magnetic sector double-focusing gas chromatography/mass spectrometers currently available.